A Lucky Charm
by Autotomyton
Summary: Can a lucky charm end seven years of bad luck? This is a four part romance/adventure story focusing on Tails and Nicole, it might be a bit confusing if you haven't read the Archie comics. No fan characters. Updates regularly. Disclaimer: All characters are property of SEGA and Archie Comics.
1. Part 1, Chapter 1

**PART 1 - A Love Unlived**

 **CHAPTER 1 - New Feelings**

It was two o'clock in the morning, the soft white light of a full moon streaked the sky and highlighted the edges of meandering clouds. The empty streets of new Mobotropolis were bathed in a pale silver glow, its buildings silhouetted against the faintly luminescent blue-black of the night sky. Autumn had taken hold and the warmth of the day had faded. A crisp breeze scattered shadowy brown and red leaves across the footpath. The breeze gently ruffled Nicole's hair.

She strolled calmly and soundlessly but inside the young lynx was charged. Eyes wide and bright, she stared straight ahead, lost in the buzzing energy of her own were going right; really right! It had been a month since the great battle and Robotnik had finally been defeated, once and for all! Nagus had fled, chased from the kingdom by Sonic and the people had cheered loudly as the rightful King Max triumphantly re-ascended his throne. A grin spread across Nicole's face as she remembered the moment that she had seen Sally again, her body de-roboticized and her mind back to normal.

Nicole stopped momentarily and looked around at the empty streets; her smile faded slightly as she remembered the anger of some of the councilors during her hearing. Her friends had fought so passionately to win back her freedom and the control of the nanites. Her brief elation had turned to sadness when she had seen the crowd of angry people outside, a sea of angry faces chanting and booing her. The painful memory hit her hard and she couldn't help but recoil slightly; there were still many who feared her, she could tell by the way they stared. Nicole tensed up and then breathed out a sigh and relaxed, _Nobody around to stare at me at night,_ she thought to herself and resumed her stride.

Minutes passed as the Nicole strolled aimlessly, staring wistfully upwards, lost deep in thought. It wasn't until a big cloud passed the moon and darkened the path that she snapped back to reality. _Where am I?_ Looking around once again, Nicole was somewhat surprised to find she had walked much further than expected. This was the outer suburbs. Here she could hear the faint sounds of snoring; people sleeping in their big houses with big grassy yards full of trees and flowers. In the city center the lights stayed on all night, but here not here, only the moon. The moon and one distant house... a small house with a big garage. _Isn't that Tails' house?_ thought Nicole as she approached, _I wonder why he's up so late?_

Nicole made it to the edge of the garden and peered through the bushes, she could see into the long hangar-like garage of tail's workshop. Tails often stored his plane, the Tornado, under the cover and tonight was no exception; the aircraft's impressive double wings almost scraped the roof. Assorted mechanical parts cluttered up messy shelves and cabinets along the walls and in the far corner a bright white draftsman lamp illuminated a desk covered in sketches, tools and gadgets. Tails was nowhere to be seen. _Maybe he accidentally left the lights on?_

As Nicole stood on the street and pondered the empty room, she thought about her friend.

 _Tails was so passionate in the council chamber when he was fighting for me. Did I ever get to thank him? I don't think so… He's always been nice to me, ever since I've known him. And yet I don't really know him that well. He's always really kind and friendly to everyone but he's also sort of quiet and reclusive. I wonder what he works on when he's alone? I wonder what he was working on tonight?_

Nicole suddenly jumped backwards; _did something on the table just move?_ _What is that thing?_ she craned her head to get a better look but the thick bushes obscured her view.

 _If only I could get closer_. An internal battle raged. Of course, being a computer, it only took a second but to Nicole it felt like a very long time. _Should I trespass?_ Nicole's, polite, proper and slightly nervous side, was shocked by what she was considering but she was rapt by new and exciting emotions, adventurousness, curiosity and another strange feeling she couldn't quite define. _He would probably want me to turn off that light,_ she thought to herself and cringed slightly at the lameness of her excuse. With a guilty glance over her shoulder, she disabled the visual projection of her body and turned invisible. Taking a deep breath, she counted to three and crept forwards.

Entering the garage, the impressive frame of the Tornado commanded her attention and she couldn't help but admire It's sleek style. Tail's skill and design flair had really made it something special. This version of the tornado had actually been rebuilt by her nanites after the battle but Tails had given her the design and, it was clear as she drew closer, made a few modifications. _I hope he didn't resent me doing some of the work,_ she thought as she admired his new additions. Nicole was just about to lean over to look in the cockpit when she froze. A surprised voice came from behind her.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Nicole, spun around to see Tails with a frown on his face, staring right at her. Her stomach dropped and she felt sick, _Tails is still awake! Oh god_ _what have I done? Stupid stupid stupid!_ Nicole opened her mouth to apologize but the words wouldn't come.

"I thought I'd turned you off" chuckled Tails as he breezed past the surprised lynx without so much as a glance and rushed to tend a device on table, the same device that Nicole had seen before. It was moving again!

A wave of relief washed over Nicole and she stood in place for at least a minute as her shock abated. Barely daring to move, she slowly, carefully turned to get a better view of Tails who was now working diligently at the table and was clearly, _thank goodness!_ unaware of her presence.

Nicole felt a strong urge to run but she couldn't, her curiosity had doubled. _Get a hold of yourself girl_ , Biting her lip, she silently tiptoed up next to Tails.

 _What is tha- Of course!_

Looking over Tail's shoulder, Nicole could see the various pieces of the robot dog T-pup were spread out haphazardly across the desk, some parts were still connected to the main body and all of them were moving around wildly as if they had minds of their own. Tails was exasperatedly struggling to affix a still-wagging disembodied tail back to the robot's body.

"Where did that darn mood regulator unit get to?" he muttered to himself, giving up on his fiddly task for a moment to scour the surface of the bench. He bent over to look under the desk. T-pup's electronic tongue licked him on the ear and he bolted upright bumping his head on the table in the process.

"Ow! grrrr". He winced and rubbed his head gingerly, but only for a second, as he leapt sideways to save a leg that was about to jump off the table. "T-pup, stay still!" he growled and flailed comically, desperately trying to collect the now scattering bits and pieces which seemed to be actively trying to flee the workbench.

Nicole stifled a giggle. Raising her hand to her face to cover a growing grin. _Tails is so funny when he's frustrated_. _He's really..._ ,She paused, unable to bring to mind how she felt. A dictionary search had returned a word she'd never considered before _... 'cute'... wait, what does that mean?_ The intense guilt had gone now and was replaced by a slightly giddy thrill. Gently, so as not to make a sound, she perched herself on a neighbouring bench and watched intently. _This is fun!_

Tails fumbled and muttered to himself for a few more minutes but was making little progress. After a while he stood back and sighed, with his hand on his forehead; he rolled his eyes and watched the leg that he had just attached wiggle, then wobble, then summarily unscrew itself. "Ugh, this is hopeless. I don't have time to build another mood regulator" he groaned and frustratedly fumbled in a toolbox for a bit before grudgingly returned to work.

Nicole noticed the dark patches under tail's eyes and she suddenly felt very guilty again. _Poor Tails he must have been doing this for hours! If only I could help..._ and suddenly an idea struck her that filled her with nervous adrenaline (or the artificial version of that). Silently alighting she tiptoed over to where she could see the blueprints and, carefully leaning to avoid contact with Tails, studied the plans. She looked at her friend, nodded to herself and started to concentrate,

 _Alright nanites, here goes nothing_.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 2

**PART 1 - A Love Unlived**

 **CHAPTER 2 - Four's a party**

Sunlight streamed through a small gap between closed curtains and split the darkness like a golden wall. It was late morning and the day was warm, _too warm!_ Tails turned uncomfortably and kicked off his blanket. Lazily he watched the dust particles swim in the sunbeam and thought about the week he had had. Things were going right, really right!

 _What are the chances of all that missing stuff showing up? The mood regulator, the chaos energy calibrator; Heck, I didn't even know I had a spare laser assembly! There was that time I couldn't remember something and the answer was in the first book I found, there was the time where the soldering iron broke and then suddenly started working again, heck I'm sure even my coffee has tasted better the last few days._

He smiled and glanced at the clock on his bedside; _Heh 12:05, man It was another late one last night,_ he thought as he lay comfortably back on his pillow, _Wait!_ _12:05, Oh no! I'm late for lunch with Sonic and Sally!_

Bedsheets flying, tails leapt up and dashed to the bathroom, splashing his face with a handful of icy water and chasing it with a towel. He glanced at the shower and then back at the clock. _Dammit No time! deodorant will do… oops too much!_ Slinging a satchel over his shoulder he dashed out the door and briskly started towards the center of town.

The weather was perfect and tails drank in the warmth of the sun as he hurried through the bustling midday streets of new Mobotropolis. The town was so busy and vibrant today that he had to duck and weave between groups of mobians crowding the sidewalks. Hurrying past a shop window he glanced at a clock. _12:17! Argh I hate oversleeping!_ He quickened his pace.

Rounding a corner a shady cobblestone mall lined with rows of cafe and restaurant tables swam into view, It was lunchtime and very busy. He scanned the crowd carefully, almost all of the tables were taken. _I thought they said to meet here..._ _I hope I'm not too late!_ Turning around he walked back to the corner, _maybe they're down this-_

"Hey Tails! yo little buddy, wrong way!"

Threading his way down the busy street was Sonic smiling widely. He thrust his hand out for a brotherly handshake.

"Late night eh buddy? those eye bags are coming along real nice" Sonic said jocularly.

"Ha yeah, I've been really busy, thanks for the compliment. Sorry I'm late".

"Don't sweat it dude! You're not late yet, we only just sat down a few minutes ago, Sally and Nicole went to get a table over this way because all of these ones here are taken. C'mon".

Tails' heart leapt a little in his chest as he briskly followed Sonic. _Nicole? I didn't know she was coming._ Using the reflection of the shopfront window he quickly inspected and cursed the dark circles under his eyes. They rounded the corner onto a quiet avenue which looked onto a lush garden. Sally and Nicole sat at a table together, talking animatedly and peeking at something Sally had in a shopping bag.

"Hi Tails! Come and join us" Sally shouted as she saw the boys approach. Nicole smiled and gave a little wave, Tails greeted and smiled shyly as he pulled up the chair opposite to her. Pleasantries were exchanged.

"So how's the party organising going Sal?" asked sonic "Is the old man looking forward to his 50th?"

"Oh well, you know, it's okay…" replied Sally, "Dad keeps telling me not to make too much of a fuss, and I'm trying not to go overboard but geez, I had no Idea how much work goes into planning something this big. Beating robotnick was easier!"

"Anything's easier than fighting Robotnik" shot Sonic with a smirk.

"What still needs to be done sally? Is it something we could help with?" asked tails.

"Well, actually I have to admit I was kind of praying you would ask" admitted Sally looking down guiltily, "It's only a week away and I still haven't finalised all the details; the decorations, the food, I'm in over my head…"

Nicole spoke up. "Sally, why didn't you say something earlier? I'd love to help out!", Tails nodded enthusiastically.

"Help eh? I dunno… do we get free food?" nudged Sonic

"All the chilli dogs you can eat" sally replied.

"Alright I'm In."

"But only If you help make them"

"Awwww!" sonic groaned emphatically.

Nicole and Tails laughed and for the next twenty minutes the table was alive with jokes, banter and exciting ideas.

Finally sonic interrupted. "Hey here's a suggestion guys!"

"Sonic No! For the last time you can't face paint the palace guards!" protested sally.

"No seriously, I think we can all agree on this one…"

The table went quiet as Sonic grinned and waited. He motioned with his eyes at tails who was lost in the menu. Almost as if on queue, Tails' stomach broke the silence with a loud growl.

"oh, I… excuse me, I um… didn't have breakfast"

"Anybody else keen for some lunch?" laughed Sonic.

Tails blushed and glanced at Nicole who was trying to stifle a giggle. The four friends studied their menus for a minute and then sally took orders.

"Sonic will you come with me? I was hoping to talk to you about something"

"Sure Sal" said Sonic and turned to Nicole "Watch out for Tails while I'm gone Nicole, he bites when he's hungry."

Tails cringed with embarrassment and shot a death glare at Sonic who winked and waved before rounding the corner. Nicole looked apologetically as she tried to hide her amusement. Tails smiled shyly and averted his eyes towards the tabletop.

A minute passed, silence; Tails took a sip of water, his throat was dry.

 _Say something you idiot, say something! You gotta say something now!_

 _But why would she want to talk to me?_

 _Just say something moron!_

 _But I don't know what to-_

 _SAY SOMETHING!_

Tails looked up. "I really your like...-" _shit!_ *ahem* "I- I really liked your party idea before Nicole, about lighting up the sky with coloured stars. Do you really think you could do that?"

Nicole quickly looked up when she heard tails speak, the spot on the ground she had been studying intently suddenly seemed less interesting.

"Do you really think so?" She said and for a split second her face shone with delight, but then, as if catching herself she suddenly turned somber. "Oh no... actually I wish I hadn't said anything… I've been doing some thinking and, well, I just don't know if I can actually do it. The nanites' field doesn't reach very high and even if i could make the stars I don't know how I could keep them floating. Oh I wish I hadn't said anything, Sally was so excited too, now I feel like such a let down."

Tails couldn't help but chuckle, after listening to Sonic and Sally banter for so long Nicole's modesty caught him by surprise.

"Yep that's just about how I would describe you Nicole. Biggest letdown in Mobotropolis! Sure you can build buildings out of thin air, read a million books in a minute and protect the entire city by yourself but when It comes to something really important like decorating for a party you're all talk! What a let down!"

Nicole glanced up and gave little smile, she still looked a bit down.

"I liked your ideas too Tails. Did you have a particular idea when you suggested a present?" she smirked slightly "I get the sense that sonic's idea of 'fuzzy slippers' wasn't quite what you had in mind?"

"Heh, well no not quite. I did have an idea sort of. Well actually, yes and no. There's something I've been working on for Sally for a while now and I think It would be the perfect present for the king." He looked up with a cheeky smile "Perhaps I'd better not say too much. I wouldn't want to be a let down."

"Heyyyy you're mean." pouted Nicole and they shared a laugh.

Tails paused a moment, something catching his train of thought. "Do you believe in luck?"

"What do you mean?" asked Nicole.

"Well it's the craziest thing, if you had asked me a week ago about this project I would have said there was no way in hell I'd have the present ready for the party. It's weird though, it's almost as if everything has suddenly started going right for no reason. All of a sudden I can't get things wrong, all of the stuff I'm missing turns up, all of the things that are broken start working… It's like I have a lucky charm…" Tails trailed off, slightly lost in thought. He looked at Nicole who had suddenly become very still.

"Y-You must be working really hard Tails, you look a bit tired." blurted Nicole.

"Heh, yeah" _Damn eye circles, she must think I'm such a slob_ "Actually I was a bit late today because I slept in, sorry for inconveniencing you guys".

"Oh that's okay, we were just shopping. I'm glad you came… It's nice to see you again"

Tails blushed; his heart skipped a beat. Was Nicole blushing slightly too? _No. don't be stupid. idiot. Get a grip._

There was a another moment of awkward silence and the tabletop once again became very interesting.

"So what have you been working on lately Nicole, ever since you finished repairing the city I haven't seen much of you." _Nowhere near enough_ …

"Oh, actually It's something really exciting, I've been helping Rotor with it for a few months now and It's going to be finished soon. I'd tell you more but it's meant to be a surprise and well..." Nicole smiled coyly "I've learnt my lesson about telling you my ideas haven't I?"

"touché" replied tails playfully. _Man she has beautiful eyes_ "So… so what do you think Sonic and Sally are talking about?"

"Oh I know that!" chimed Nicole, she leaned in to whisper "The party is going to be a formal, there's a partner dance and Sally's been talking all week about how she wants Sonic to be her date. She's got a plan to make him ask her".

"A plan to... make him ask her?" Chuckled tails and rolled his eyes, "man it's always something going on with those two isn't it?".

"He he, It sure is" laughed Nicole, smiling knowingly.

Something about the way that Nicole had laughed sent a jolt down tails' spine and he suddenly felt a bit light headed. _Holy cow she's pretty._

 _Ask her, Ask her now!_ came the scream inside tail's brain so loudly he couldn't ignore it.  
 _But! but-_

 _Ask her now you bloody moron or I'm out! Me and the stomach are leaving and moving to  
the country and we aren't coming back!_

Tails looked at Nicole who was smiling at him shyly and time slowed down, the blood seemed to drain from his extremities, the butterflies in his stomach were having a rave.

Tails voice was dry, "Are you… are you going with anybody N-Nicole?".

Nicole's eyes dilated and she seemed a bit shocked. "I…."

Time stood still.

"The other day Rotor offered to take me if-"

"Hey Guys!" Sonic yelled out as he plonked a big basket of chips in the center of the table and promptly grabbed one.

Tails wasn't hungry, something had punched him in the stomach.

"Would you believe I forgot I'd asked sally to this dance thing? I swear I can't remember it but then we did have a bunch of weird mind magic stuff going on after Nagus left, maybe it was some kind of amnesia... But hang on-"

"Okay, so where were we…" sally quickly interrupted and steered the conversation back to the party.

With food in their hands (and sometimes in their mouths) the friends talked and laughed until the lunch crowds had gone and when it was finally time to leave Tails said goodbye and waved cheerily. He arrived home at three and got back to work, or at least most of him did - the rest lay cold and dying at the cafe, trapped in a moment that would last forever.


	3. Part 1, Chapter 3

**PART 1 - A Love Unlived**

 **CHAPTER 3 - You can't hide from Sally**

"Wow look how it fits!"

Sally grinned as her head popped out of the neck hole of the formal dress she was shimmying into.

"You haven't zipped it up yet," giggled Nicole who sat with her feet dangling off the side of Sally's grand four-post bed. She jumped up and hurried over to Sally whose arms were flailing as she struggled to reach the zipper on the back of her dress.

"It's definitely a little tighter than I remember." muttered sally.

Sally turned slowly on the spot with her arms out to her sides, critically examining herself in the mirror. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten so much dessert the other day but what am I supposed to do, the castle chefs keep throwing celebration feasts!" she said, blue satin fabric hung elegantly from her feminine frame. "Oh Nicole, does It still look okay?"

"Err... define okay" teased Nicole, an expression of mock apprehension on her face.

"Hey! You'd better watch out or I'll reprogram you into an elephant. You'll have to wear a sheet to the party!" Sally shot back, her playful smile fading slightly as she looked disapprovingly at the mirror "Seriously Nicole, does it look alright?"

Nicole, who was now sitting back down, looked her in the eyes and nodded solemnly

"You look amazing Sally, really".

"Thanks Nicole."

There was a comfortable minute of silence, the sort that can only exist between friends, Nicole spectated as Sally used the bedroom's large ornate mirror to model her dress from a variety of angles. Satisfied, she smiled and gave a little nod before twirling on the spot playfully.

"Well that's my dress done. What about you Nicole? Are you wearing anything special?"

"A-actually I did have something In mind." Said Nicole shyly, being the center of attention was not her strong suit, "Perhaps you could tell me what you think?"

Sally smiled warmly and gave an supporting nod which prompted Nicole to stand up. With a self-conscious look downwards Nicole's physical form dissolved in a glow of green light and not a moment later she was back, her regular purple dress replaced by an elegant, ankle-length, flowing golden gown.

Sally gasped and stood for a second in awed silence. " Wow Nicole!" she exclaimed " That. Looks. Amazing!" and she enviously admired Nicole's new look.

"It's... It's okay?" said Nicole, who smiled cautiously. She'd never dressed up like this before, and was slightly taken aback by how she looked, _This is actually pretty fun._

"Okay? Nicole, it's incredible! You look like a model! As Princess of this kingdom I may have to order you not to wear it, you're going to make me look bad!"

"You're not trying to catch someone's eye are you? " Sally asked wryly.

Nicole's eyes suddenly shot down to her feet and her face flushed bright red. She was dead silent. Sally laughed casually but stopped when she noticed.

"Nicole, are you alright?"

Nicole was silent, briefly she glanced up and in her eyes Sally caught a glimpse of deep embarrassment. _But it couldn't be could it? Because that would mean..._ A cheeky grin of recognition swept over her face.

"Ohhh IIIIIIII see"

Sally placed her hands on her hips and gave Nicole a knowing grin. Nicole shifted uncomfortably on the spot; she was suddenly desperate to avoid eye contact, her face felt red hot from blushing and she wished she were were invisible.

"Hey come back here you!" Sally burst out laughing as Nicole's desire to disappear began to manifest itself physically.

"You can't escape from me that easily. Whooo is it Nicole?"

"N-Nobody" she muttered, and drew away in discomfort.

"I bet it's -" Sally started but then stopped suddenly and scolded herself. _Gosh her emotions are so advanced these days sometimes I forget she's still learning about some new ones, this must be really hard for her._

Sally gave Nicole a hug. "Nicole I'm sorry, you don't need to tell me anything, I'm just so excited for you." then she winked "You know it doesn't matter who it is anyway. You could have any guy in the world looking like that!"

Nicole blushed again but relaxed."Thank you Sally. I'm sorry too. I... I want to tell you, but It just makes me feel so embarrassed. Is that normal?"

Sally chuckled and gave Nicole a sympathetic frown "Oh yeah, you'd better believe it! I hate to tell you honey but If you think you're embarrassed talking with me about this, just wait till you try to tell them how you feel!" Playfully she gave Nicole a tight squeeze "Sorry Nicole, you're just going to have to get used to it"


	4. Part 1, Chapter 4

**PART 1 - A Love Unlived**

 **CHAPTER 4 - Fortress of solitude**

Tails wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and massaged his sore neck. He'd been kneeling down for hours now, fiddling with some damaged wiring in the innards of a large control panel, it was slow and tedious work. "Ugh time for a break" he muttered to himself as he gingerly eased himself up, propping his back against the side of the panel. "T-pup keep working back in there I'll be back in a bit!" he called out and was met with an obedient yip. He rubbed his eyes, slowly adjusting to the gentle late-afternoon sunlight that shone through a large gash in the side of the room, the cold metallic grey of the control panels and walls reflected it's warm glow. Tails stared outside, admiring a view which could hardly have been more picturesque; rolling green slopes covered in long green grass and fields of colourful flowers swaying in the breeze, the start of a valley that descended into thick verdant forest. The high altitude gave a panoramic view to the horizon and, in the distance far below, Tails could see the sun inching towards the horizon, clouds emblazoned in spectacular pinks and yellows, the first lights of New Mobotropolis as it welcomed the night.

 _Sure was nice of Eggman to crash the death egg up here_ thought Tails and smiled to himself as he relaxed. His mind began to wander.

Something in the distance caught Tail's eye and he snapped out of his daydream. A flock of birds formed a little cloud as they escaped the canopy of the dense western forest. Seconds later a tiny speck of blue emerged onto the flat green plains at the base of the mountain, it was moving, zigging and zagging and occasionally disappearing from view. Tails smiled and watched as second by second the blur got bigger, streaking through the grass of the green foothills down below. Picking himself up, he strolled over to the hole in wall of the control room and peered out.

Silence, and then, suddenly, a loud ripping sound rang out from above, Tails dashed outside but before he could look up Sonic was in front of him. Sliding down the side of the crashed death egg fortress, the blue hedgehog jumped and landed acrobatically in front of tails.

"Sonic!"shouted tails and the friends high-fived.

"Hey tails, little buddy, sorry I'm late I had to get my date ready for the big dance tonight" Sonic smirked and pointed upwards, directing Tail's attention to the Robotnik 'face' of the death-egg which Sonic's spin dash had creatively given a lipstick, a bow, and long eyelashes.

"I didn't know you were into bigger girls Sonic" Laughed tails and rolled his eyes with a smile at the drawing.

"Shh don't say that she'll hear you!".

"So what are you doing up here?" Asked Tails "I thought Sally asked you to help with the preparations?"

Sonic pointed to his hand and Tails realised he was holding a small covered plate.

"She did, and I am; right now! I'm helping the kitchen staff take the appetizers out to the tables. Sally gave me twenty minutes but it only took me two. You're a guest and I figured that this lovely lady up here probably has a table inside her somewhere so I'm just doing my job, right?"

Sonic uncovered the plate to reveal a selection of tasty looking hors-d'oeuvres, he grabbed one, a pastry puff, and tossed it to to tails before stuffing another in his own mouth.

"Heh, Thanks sonic, I am pretty hungry" chuckled tails as he studied his food for a moment and then promptly devoured it. The two surveyed the view as they shared the tray of food, barely pausing to grunt approval between bites.

When tails had finished he sighed, wiped his mouth, and spoke up. "I know why you're really here y'know... but I can't come now. I'm not finished yet."

Sonic, who was reaching for the last morsel on the plate, stopped mid-movement."Oh" he muttered dejectedly, "You're sure you won't to come? It won't be the same without you little buddy. Sally and Me and everyone else, you know we all really want you there."

"Thanks Sonic, I know" said tails nodding his head earnestly, "But I can't come until I have the King's present, it's just too important. I promised Sally that I would get it and I'm so close I can almost feel it. "

"But nobody else knows about it Tails! It's not like you'll be letting me down, and Sally never meant for you to work through the party. You know she's the one that sent me here right? Serving tables, pft, do you really think she'd let me get anywhere near the kitchen?"

"Ha ha no" tails chuckled, he felt guilty and torn, a moment passed as his inner voices argued with each other. When he finally he looked up, his face was serious. "Sonic, I'm sorry, I really can't, I've spent weeks preparing for this, I'm almost finished and it's just too important to let it go. Tell sally I'll be there soon but I just need a bit more time"

Sonic sized up Tail's resolve with one last careful look, but his expression was clear, the argument over. "You win, buddy, you win. Just make sure you make it before the fireworks ok? After that we're giving the King his present and you'll be too late."

"I'll be there".

Sonic nodded, he knew that look, he sighed slightly and smiled to himself. "Alright buddy, well I gotta go before Sal finds out that it was me who stole the eats. Don't be a stranger."

"Cya Sonic" said Tails with a solemn smile.

And with that Sonic was gone, a trail of dust and a speck of blue in the distance were all that remained.

Tails squeezed his fist and grit his teeth, _alright, no time to lose now, I gotta get this done._


	5. Part 1, Chapter 5

**PART 1 - A Love Unlived**

 **CHAPTER 5 - A night to forget**

 _This is crazy, I'm so nervous I'm going to die!_ Nicole's heart hammered in her chest as the palace guard inspected her invitation and ushered her through the big iron archway, the white, vine-covered threshold into the castle's gardens. Rotor walked beside her dressed in a slightly-too-tight tux, humming to the jazz music that the band was playing.

Nicole scanned the area with trepidation. The party had definitely begun and the garden had been transformed; thousands of tiny strings of lights filled the trees and boundary hedges of the courtyard, their glow reaching every leaf and branch, contrasting them strikingly against the background of the darkening night. The colourful crowd was large but spread out; friends mingled together around tables with silk tablecloths or stood in chatty groups eyeing the food at the long buffets. Nicole was relieved to see she had not overdressed.

Sally, ever the gracious host, was dutifully breaking the ice in a group of unintroduced guests when she spotted the pair and politely excused herself. Her hasty beeline over the grass ending with a warm hug and kiss. "Nicole! Rotor! Thanks so much for coming!" she said excitedly.

"Hi Sally, thanks you for inviting us!" replied Rotor, "And gosh I have to say, Your dad sure is a lucky man, this place looks amazing!"

Sally Beamed. "Doesn't it look great! All the lights and the decorations! It was actually Nicole who did most of it!" She glanced at Nicole who was silent "You didn't even tell anyone did you?"

"Ha ha, no she didn't, why am I not surprised?" Rotor laughed and examined Nicole "Does this have anything to do with the floating star lights you were asking me about?"

Nicole frowned and looked ashamed "Oh I'm so sorry Sally, I tried everything but I couldn't work out how to do it, I never should have said anything. please forgive me"

Sally laughed. "hmmm I dunno…" she raised her eyebrow and leaned in, "maybe if you tell me your little secret" she whispered with a nudge.

Rotor who had been looking around slightly distracted suddenly burst into laughter "ha ha ha! Good luck with that one Sally, I've been trying to get it out of her all day! I managed to work out that it's not Sonic though so you can rest easy there"

"Whew!" said Sally in mock relief, wiping imaginary sweat off her forehead. She gave Rotor a knowing smile. Nicole turned a deep crimson.

"Oh hey, I'm really sorry to dash off so early guys but I planned to meet some old friends here tonight. They came all the way from the tundra! I've just spotted them, can I catch up with you later?" Said Rotor.

"Of course Rotor, that's so nice of them, we'll catch up with you later, have a great time!" Sally replied with a smile and turned to Nicole "Isn't this exciting? C'mon lets go find Dad."

Rotor turned to leave but before he did he winked, "Hey Nicole, say Hi to your new boyfriend for me".

Sally stifled her laugh and gave Nicole a hug, "Sorry Nicole, I'll be good".

Taking her by the arm, Sally led her embarrassed friend through the crowd, smiling and greeting friends as she passed. The lawn gave way to four grand stairs leading up to a large stone balcony where waiters served drinks to elegant ladies and tuxedoed men. The majestic castle acorn, lit up spectacularly, loomed above.

"Over there" pointed Sally and Nicole turned to see King Max in his wheelchair talking animatedly with his son Elias and Elias' wife. Sonic, decked out in an all black suit, was leaning on the balustrading and listening casually as he surveyed the party, he spotted the girls and beckoned them over.

"Nicole my dear you look lovely as ever!" came Max's jovial voice, "I hear I have you to thank for these wonderful decorations!"

"Thank you sir" said Nicole humbly "It's been my honour to be of help"

"There's no way I could have done it without Nicole dad. Everyone helped out more than I could have possibly imagined" Said sally.

"I gave moral support" Sonic joked.

Max laughed and gave Sonic a hearty pat, "Sally dear you truly are blessed to have so many good friends, It makes an old codger like me very proud."

The princess threw a smile at Nicole and Sonic who were trying to look modest.

"Well they are the freedom fighters dad, Is there anything they can't do?" Elias spoke, "We wouldn't even be around to celebrate if it wasn't for them." he paused, thinking for a moment, "Hey sal, this must be the first time you guys have all got back together since the victory right? was everyone able to make it?"

Sally frowned slightly, "Unfortunately no, not everyone could be here, Knuckles sends his regards but he had business on Angel island."

Sonic rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink. "the emerald's going to hatch if he sits on it any longer" he murmured, just loud enough to elicit a glare from Sally.

"How about young Tails? I don't believe I've seen him yet tonight" said Max.

Sally shrugged, "Well he's definitely been invited. Have you heard anything Sonic?".

"Only what I told you before Sal, sorry, he's tough nut to crack"

"Did he- did he say he was coming?" blurted Nicole with a little too much emphasis.

 _Bus- ted!_ thought Sally and covered her grin. She raised her eyebrow at Nicole slyly.

"He promised he'd be here before the fireworks" replied Sonic who flashed a curious look at Sally as he tried to decipher her amused expression.

Nicole looked out over the party as her talking friends stood beside her. Elias was telling a story but the words seemed far away. She felt lightheaded, off-balance, like floating on a cloud, only one thought occupied her mind. _He's coming!_

A series of faint popping sounds echoed through the still night air and Tails, who lay sprawled against the side of a control panel, groaned deeply. Out in the distance, through the gash in the wall, he watched as the beginnings of a dazzling fireworks display cast coloured blooms over the skyline of mobotropolis. He sighed in defeat, the manic enthusiasm that usually pushed him through into the long hours of the night had long since disappeared and in its place was a numb feeling, a bitter emptiness It felt like failure. It felt like regret.

 _I'm such a loser. I should have listened to Sonic, I could have been there hours ago. Nobody even knows I'm up here, nobody knows what I'm doing. I could be having fun. I could be…_

Tails cringed and cradled his head in his hands.

 _Oh who am I kidding? Sonic was wrong, not everyone wanted to see me tonight…_

 _not... her..._

The dull ache in tail's throat throbbed and bitter tears welled in his eyes. He stared fiercely ahead, his tortured face grimly outlined by an ethereal purple glow. The chaos emerald, the king's grand present, sneered back at him.

It was a being used as a power source, he'd worked out that much. Connected to some sort of strange machine, and yet, the more he studied the circuits and followed the wires, the less logical it all seemed. All that effort, all that time for nothing, it was trapped behind impenetrable shields. The universe was taunting him, the lucky charm, just a cruel joke.

The distant fireworks ended with a spectacular flourish and the sky went dark. The darkness enveloped tails' mind. "THIS STUPID MACHINE, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" he yelled, slamming his fist hard on the control panel. In a wounded fury Tails seized the loose wires next to him and let out a guttural roar. Mindlessly, furiously, he tore at the circuit; sparks flew as it fell from the wall.

The blast was instant.

The light as bright as a thousand suns.

The energy pulsed outwards at the speed of sound and Tails' world dissolved around him.


	6. Part 2, Chapter 6

**PART 2 - The black desert**

 **CHAPTER 6 - The fox of the wastes**

A gale of roaring winds battered the windows and whistled through the gaps in the door of the small log cabin. Driving rain hammered on the roof with a deafening roar and streamed off into eroded dirt channels that flowed like waterfalls down rocky cliffs. Huge black-blue waves crashed mercilessly on the beach. Tropical Cocoa island - Stay for the weather.

Thick black clouds blanketed the night sky but inside the cabin was lit; a sterile blue glared coldly from a draftsman's lamp and onto a workbench in the corner. Sharply silhouetted, a lone figure stood hunched, hands planted firmly on the bench. The young fox stared fixedly at the radio in front of him, two tails flicked anxiously at the floor behind him.

It was bitterly cold but if he noticed Tails didn't show it. His face showed little these days. The carefree boy that he had once been was worn out. Though still young and handsome, not even quite a man, his face betrayed a great tiredness, his expression was weary and drawn, his eyes without the spark of youth. Tails glanced quickly at the dusty old clock on the bookshelf and his forehead creased in frustration. _2:20 am. Knuckles is never late like this! has something gone wrong?_ He pulled the cover panel off the old two-way and carefully surveyed the insides, checking and re-checking for a loose wire or a faulty fuse, anything to explain the deafening silence.

A fork of brilliant white lightning hit the ground nearby, shaking the windows with a thundering boom and for the hundredth time that evening the young fox flinched back in fear, gritting his teeth and trying to force the panic back inside. Steadying himself on the bench, he gulped a deep breath and closed his eyes, _it'll be over soon, it'll be over soon_. His ears were ringing but there was another noise too, _Is that? Yes!_ through the crackle of interference and the sound of driving rain, the faintest of voices spoke out "Emerald Island to Cocoa Island, Emerald Island to Cocoa Island, come in Cocoa Island! over"

Quickly donning his headphones and adjusting the gain, Tails leaned in close to the microphone. "Cocoa Island here I read you but your signal is weak, can you bring it up any more? over"

Crackling noises, more distortion, louder now. "Tails *** can you hear me?" came the familiar voice. Tails let out a sigh of relief.

"I can hear you Knuckles old buddy and geez I'm glad you called! This storm; It's the worst one yet and it's coming on fast"

"Roger on that, I think we're in the same storm! Started raining here a week ago and no signs of letting up. Sorry for the delay, I was just getting ready to call you when lightning hit the transformer and the whole system went down. These damn storms just keep getting worse, It's not going to stop is it?"

 _A week?!_ the horror of the thought sapped the warmth from Tail's fingertips.

"I don't know Knux but I'm not gonna sit here and wait to find out! Put me out of my misery, did you follow that lead?"

"Yeah I did tails I ********* *** *** **"

Tails pressed the headphones to his ears, the crackling distortion was louder, worse than the driving rain.

"Repeat Knuckles, Repeat!"

More crackling.

"*** found it Tails. The emerald you asked ab*** it was there"

Blood pounded in Tail's ears. _Could it be? Finally a power source!_

"Do you have it? Knuckles do you have it with you!?"

"No, I couldn't ge*****. couldn't get it ************* still there. Too m*ch ra**********"

The radio hissed like a sandblaster.

"KNUCKLES REPEAT! Too much what? The chaos emerald why did you leave it!? KNUCKLES!"

The empty line hissed into Tails' ears like a jeering snake; He tore off his headphones, slamming them down on the table. Glancing back to the clock and then out at the storm his mind began to race. _It's only going to get worse! I can't afford to stay here, I need that emerald!_ Thunder blasted as he snatched his heavy coat from the wall and threw open the door, leaning into the wind, greeting the angry tempest head-on.

Blinding sheets of sideways rain cascaded down as Tails dashed towards the hangar, his slipping boots leaving indented pools in the waterlogged grass. He lunged for the door, throwing it open and dashing inside; a cacophony, the sound of rain on the curved tin roof, reverberated like a million tiny gunshots around the large open shed. _Damn the power's out!_ Tails grabbed his flashlight off the wall, it's beam revealing the puddles of water now inching across the cement floor. In the center sat the tornado, his pride and joy, gleaming a metallic blue in the halogen beam, its chrome propeller polished to a mirror. Tails braced himself against the onslaught of wind as he slowly cranked open the heavy hangar door. _This is going to be rough..._

The gale pulsing through the opening tugged at the tornado's wings, rocking it back and forth as Tails swung himself up into the cockpit. With the push of a button, the starter motor engaged and the propeller roared into life, headlights glared out, illuminating a dense wall of water. _Rudder, check. Ailerons, check._ Everything was operational. _Here goes nothing._

Tails took a deep breath and pressed the accelerator. The battle began, Tornado vs hurricane.


	7. Part 2, Chapter 7

****PART 2 - The black desert****

 **CHAPTER 7 - Coming Home**

White knuckled, Tails gripped the joystick as his battered plane finally breached through the cloud bank; rising out of the grey like a submarine surfacing in a ghostly ocean. Heavy beads of moisture streamed off the wings and down the windshield. Tails sat bolt upright, the terrifying take-off still replaying in his head. _Thank god I decided to enclose the cockpit!_

The night air was still and almost serene above the clouds and soon Tails' breathing slowed and he relaxed back into his seat. Minutes passed slowly and soon became hours, his relief passed quickly and soon became boredom. Tails checked the clock, 4:53 am. Down below the storm clouds seemed less intense and through them he could see some faint lights shining up. _Freedom town,_ tails frowned, _I wonder how things are going down there these days._

Freedom town was a depressing place. Its ramshackle huts and shelters had been constructed hastily in the weeks after the bombs. No running water, barely enough food, but still survivors had poured in, escaping from the craters that they had once called cities. He had been one of the lucky ones, or so they told him, and for a time Freedom Town had offered shelter but the walls had quickly became a symbol of all that was lost. Tails remembered the day he finally repaired the Tornado, plotting a course for Cocoa Island, the only speck of light in an endless night.

The lights soon dimmed and Tails drifted off to sleep, awoken some hours later by an annoying beeping. 'Destination approaching' flashed on the autopilot screen and Tails once again seized control of the joystick. The black storm clouds had given way to grey now, less dense but moving quickly. Bracing for winds he turned the nose downwards and dived back into the fluffy shapeless gloom, wrestling the controls as the biplane jolted from side to side. A deadened blackened wasteland swam into view, the first glimpse of Mobotropolis, his old home. Tails watched as great gusts of wind whipped black dust into the air, throwing it about back and forth in angry little whirlwinds. Hundreds of broken ruins jutted haphazardly from the flat plain, barely visible until dangerously close. The sideways cross-winds shook the tornado violently as Tails surveyed the ground for a landing spot, _The runway,_ thought tails, _it may still be usable,_ and he squinted through the haze, trying to pick details from the featureless graveyard. _Wait. I think that's it!_

Turning the plane into the wind Tails gripped the stick tightly, the long flat straight was becoming clearer now and he braced himself for a rough landing. Pushing the joystick forwards he bounced violently in the turbulence, slamming into the sides of the cockpit and jolting up and down. _Something's wrong!_ To his horror Tails could see the end of the runway, or what used to be the end of the runway, in it's place, the ruins of the air control tower were strewn on the ground. Fighting the stick he tried to pull up but the tornado was too slow to rise. The wheels hit the ground with a thud, the wall of debris approaching like a speeding truck. Desperately he jammed the controls hard left, almost rolling the plane as it turned at the last second, skidding over the loose bitumen. A cement block as big as a bus screamed past his right windscreen, tearing off a wing like paper and sending tails headfirst into the windshield. The plane rolled forward and let out a terrible grinding shriek as metal on tarmac skidded to a stop.

There was relative quiet for a moment as Tails fought the urge to pass out, the sound of alarms blared out loudly at him but they seemed distant and distorted. In a daze the young fox pushed hard on the cockpit roof, dragging himself out he crawled through smoke and onto the dusty ground. His arm shielded his eyes from the daggers of sand whipping at his face. _This is bad, this is bad, this is so much worse than it looked from above!_

Tails dragged himself to the ruins of tower wall and collapsed in the corner. The wind was ringing in his ears but a new sensation snapped at his attention, a burning pain throbbed in his leg. He strained to look, to assess the damage, but a wall of darkness was fast approaching. The wind wailed around him but tails could not hear, his eyes closed and his head fell to the ground.

Tails awoke in a start, an icy droplet of rain soaking into the fur of his cheek. _How long have I been out?_ He looked up at the sky, now dark and blotted out by thick black rain-clouds. _The storm, it's here..._

Sitting up, tails groaned in pain. Everything felt bruised, his right ankle was on fire. Through spattering drops of rain Tails could see the remains of his beloved plane strewn out along the runway, It had been a narrow escape. One of the wings had been torn clean off, twisted and torn it lay on its side. The other, a bi-wing no-longer, hung limply from the fuselage, it's supporting struts snapped in half. The engines looked charred and the propeller, or at least most of it, was nowhere to be seen. Using the wall, tails struggled to his feet. _The cockpit! My supplies, thank goodness it's okay._ Tails limped labouredly toward the upturned cabin, it's cracked windscreen still open from his hasty escape. He leaned in, and, with some effort, pulled out a large supply crate and set about filling his satchel.

The rain was coming in harder now and the powdery black dust of the wasteland was quickly turning to mud. Tails shivered as he lumbered forward, using a strut from his broken wing as a makeshift crutch. He now wore a raincoat but his fur was soaked and an icy wind bit hard against his face; the temperature was dropping. _I need to find cover, somewhere to camp._ Tails looked all around himself, peering into the haze, In the distance a dark outline caught his eye, a large structure, it looked enclosed. Arduously he lumbered towards it.

The shape was like a giant dome and as he drew closer tails could tell that, unlike the surrounding cement ruins of buildings, this was made of something else. Something… metallic. A bolt of lightning shot through the clouds and tails caught a glimpse of the lit up paint. _Eggman! The death egg!_ It sat on its side, badly damaged and half-buried, a reminder that nobody had been spared when the bombs had fell. Not even Robotnik. Mad till the end.

The shadow of the fortress now loomed over him and tails slogged through the muddy ground towards the edge. A large broken strut hung down from above creating an overhang, a brief respite from the pounding rain. Tails looked around, following the curve of the hull, the entrance, if there was one, was nowhere to be seen. His stomach dropped as he looked out at the fain falling harder and harder. His leg throbbed and he shook from the cold. _This was a terrible mistake, I can't stay here! The cockpit, I need to get back to the cockpit!_ Desperately he searched the boundaries of his vision for any familiar landmark. His footprints, left mere minutes before were almost gone, seemingly swallowed by the quickening deluge. Heart pounding, he picked a direction, a best guess, and silently threw bitter curses at himself as he stepped out from below the shrinking cover. _Why didn't I use my bloody compass!?_

The biting wind was pulsing now, driving shards of heavy rain hard into the mud; freezing cold and drenched to the bone, Tails staggered forward, shivering uncontrollably, a feeling of panic starting to grow inside him. Desperately he scanned through the rain, _I need some shelter, anything!_ Nothing. He stumbled forward blindly now, veiled by a grey sheet of water that fell before his eyes. The cockpit of the tornado, his only remaining hope was nowhere to be seen, his tracks long since vanished.

The tree trunk looked like any other debris. A greyish mangled form, black and charred, poking from the murky ground. Tails had stumbled close and paused for a moment to catch his breath, when he was suddenly struck by a strange thought. _This is the only tree I've seen… how did it survive?_ He looked closer. The tree, shaped almost perfectly like the base of a large oak was strangely unburned by fire, In fact, it looked as if it had melted slightly. A mesh frame was just visible behind the charred remains of a very convincing false bark. Behind that… _hollow!_ Tails staggered closer, _could it be? surely not… I would have known about it!_ With his shivering hand outstretched he felt the sides and moved around the trunk of the tree. _c'mon c'mon…_ suddenly he felt a click as he touched a jutting bark chip, and, as if by magic, a small door in the side of the tree opened inwards. Tails pushed the door in and leaned down to look inside, it was almost pitch black, but it felt dry and without a second thought he stepped through the doorway. Straight into a hole.

Tails fell, tumbling forwards, faster and faster down a steep smooth slide. Head first, back first, he skidded down the slippery tube and before he could even sit back up he was thrown out at high speed, sliding across cold smooth concrete in a pitch black room, hitting a wall with a light thud. Grimacing with pain he struggled through his dizziness trying desperately to make sense of the inky blackness. He touched the wall next to him and moved his hands upwards. There was a tickle, a buzzing noise, and suddenly a sharp jolt like static electricity shot through him.


	8. Part 2, Chapter 8

****PART 2 - The black desert****

 **CHAPTER 8 - Computer Games**

Tails winced as a brilliant flash of light exploded through his head, as if stepping from a dark basement into the blinding glare of the midday sun. A numb, tingling sensation like pins and needles shot down his arms and legs and a high pitched ringing filled his ears. The sound stopped suddenly, almost as suddenly as it had come, the painful sensory onslaught dissolved and his surroundings came swimming back into focus. He gasped in surprise, the wasteland was gone, the blackened room no-more. In shock Tails survey his surroundings, he stood at the edge of a lush green grassy clearing, a warm yellow sun gleamed down on his face from a crystal clear blue sky.

It took the fox a moment to realise where he was. One side the clearing was surrounded by a semicircle of trees, the edge of a dense pine forest, on the other, a limestone cliff facade. Into the the base of the cliff was set a heavy wooden door, a single stump sitting conspicuously nearby removed any doubt from his mind. He gazed at the flag flying overhead. _But this is… The old Freedom Fighters HQ!_ "Woah" he gasped audibly, still slightly off-balance from his jolting transition, _It's just like it used to be_. With an outstretched hand Tails felt the air around him, taking one tentative step forward and then another, each time bracing slightly as if expected to hit the wall of the dark room; it never came. His leg had stopped hurting and a strange feeling of nakedness had crept over him; looking down at his body he realised his heavy raincoat was gone and the brown belt that he rarely removed no longer hung around his waist. Stranger still, Instead of his regular boots he was now wearing special trainers, red and white and built for speed, the same kind he had once worn many years ago, long since worn out. _okay this is getting weird._

The Freedom fighters old base was two stories high, built into the rock of some cliffs in the forest. The heavy bunker door yielded surprisingly easily as Tails crossed its familiar threshold, pausing momentarily to touch the wall; solid, cool and rough like sand. _Is this real? It feels real..._ The top floor was mostly a hallway, at one end a big metal door lead further into the hillside, the control centre of the HQ, to the left a stone archway carved into the rock marked the start of a flight of stairs that spiraled downwards to the living quarters below. Picking a direction, Tails tentatively moved forward towards the stairway and was just about to walk down the first step when he froze. _Was that a voice?_ The faint sounds of laughter echoed up the long stone passageway, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

With a growing sense of unease Tails glanced behind him then bit his lip and crept quietly down the long curved staircase. He could make out voices now and they grew louder as he approached the bottom. There was something odd about the voices... something familiar. _Can it be? but how?!_ He could now just see into the cavernous but homely living area. There was a kitchen in the far corner, bedrooms to the side, and a cozy entertainment area in the middle complete with couches and a television, just how he remembered it. Feelings of nostalgia and warm comfort filled his heart, a strange compliment to the eerie disquiet that was filling his stomach. One by one Tails carefully descended the final steps to the ground, his eyes fixed upon the couches, his usually stoic face now wide eyed in disbelief. There before him surrounded by Antoine, Bunnie, Vector and Espio sat none-other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

The colourful flashing images on the big widescreen television set lit up the faces of a happy group. Antoine and Bunnie were sharing an armchair, and in their hands a video game controller, they both stared straight ahead with looks of intense concentration on their faces, apparently locked in a fierce battle. Vector shifted animatedly on the edge of his seat as his body subconsciously mimicked his actions on screen and Sonic too was playing, he appeared to be winning, slouched back on the couch with a confident smirk on his face. Espio sat next to Vector, reading a magazine quietly. Tails lingered in the doorway and quietly watched the little group enjoying themselves, too dumbstruck to move.

There was a sound of fanfare from the TV and suddenly sonic jumped up and pumped his fist in the air. "Ha ha Yes! eat that guys! Winner again! What's that now? Fifth time 'just lucky' eh?".

"Yeah yeah, alright but that's only because ya got to choose the level again" Bunnie retorted, clearly miffed.

"Hey Tails what are you doing over there?" Sonic called out and beckoned with his free hand "Come join us for the next game. Would be nice to have some real competition for a change"

Tails froze, he was spotted, and yet It was almost as if Sonic had barely acknowledged him. Nothing but a quick hello and a casual wave? Sonic's blasé demeanor caught him off guard, his cover blown he approached cautiously, amazed by the lack of reaction to his presence. Nobody watched him and nobody spoke, even Sonic had quickly turned his attention back to mocking Vector who was desperately trying to avoid last place.

When Tails reached the couches he was first acknowledged by Espio who looked up and gave a friendly smile and a nod before returning to his book.

"Hey Tails" grumbled Vector quickly under his breath as he stared at the screen, still battling a virtual opponent to escape the ultimate shame.

"Alo Tails" said Antoine cheerfully.

"Hi shugah wanna play?" Chimed Bunnie.

"Ah oui please Tails, we are needing your flying skills, Sonic keeps winning at ze racing and we need to take him down."

"Hey, what can I say? when it comes to speed, I'm a natural." Said sonic cockily and put his hands behind his head, relaxing a bit too deliberately back into the couch.

Tails didn't reply. How could he? What do you say to a room full of ghosts? Had the last seven years even happened to these people? It felt like a dream and yet everyone seemed so real, all he could do was stare at their faces.

"Here ya go hun" said Bunnie as she thrust a free controller into Tails' open hand. He stood for a moment not knowing what else to do, then, sensing the curious looks from his onlookers, he hesitantly surrendered, slumping down onto the couch next to Sonic, still staring in wide eyed bemusement at his old friends.

Antoine picked a level, 'the asteroid belt' and Sonic started a new game. Tails halfheartedly moved his rocket ship through the course, too stricken by the strangeness of his situation to really pay attention.

"Hey guys I'm beating Tails, I'm Beating Tails!" Vector exclaimed excitedly as he blasted past with a endless boost and flew straight into a well-placed mine "Aww who left that there!" he cried, spaceship exploding ingloriously for a tenth time.

Out of the corner of his eye Tails caught a glimpse of movement from the stairway and watched as Nicole and Sally entered the room chatting with each other. The girls waved offhandedly at the group as they walked past on their way to the kitchen where Nicole sat on the bench and watched Sally dig through the refrigerator.

A minute later and the race was over, Tails had come in fifth of eight and once again Sonic was chuckling at Vector's incompetence. Tails watched Sonic spellbound, seven years and he hadn't aged a day.

"Sonic" said Tails quietly, tapping his gloating friend on the shoulder "can I ask you something..."

The blue hedgehog turned around and, noticing Tails serious expression, lowered his voice "Sure Tails, what's up? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know…" Tails said hesitantly "If I were to ask you where we were right now what would you say?"

Sonic laughed reflexively, "Heh, asking the tough ones today little buddy, we're at FFHQ, is this a trick question?"

"When I came in before nobody really noticed... weren't you surprised to see me?"

Sonic looked puzzled "Well sure I guess, a little, you're usually out working in your workshop at this time of day, kind of cool to see you turn up so early in the afternoon..." Sonic paused and looked at Tails with concern "What's the matter Tails? are you feeling alright?"

Tails glanced down at his hands, young hands, much younger than they should be. _This must be a dream... but it feels so real._ He looked back up at Sonic, _did I die from that electric shock? Maybe this is heaven?_

"Hey Tails, Sonic, are you two finished yapping? I'm choosing the level this time and you guys are going down" Vector said over-confidently.

Espio grinned and shook his head, not even bothering to look up.

Sonic gave Tails a concerned look with a raised eyebrow, "You look okay to me buddy. Maybe you just need to kick back and relax for a bit, let's have another race eh? See how you feel."

"uh, sure..." Tails pickup up his controls and looked back at the screen. _I guess I might as well..._

Choose a character, choose a craft, line up at the start, 3,2... "Shoot him Tails, shoot him!" Bunnie shouted and Tails was back in the game. A frantic battle unfolded with rockets and boosts and crashes galore and as Tails crossed the line in first, blasting past Sonic with a well-timed boost, a loud cheer went up from the couches accompanied by a cry of disappointment from Sonic, Tails felt his whole body relax. _This must be a dream, it has to be, I never could beat Sonic at this!_ He sat back in the couch and smiled, looking around at his beloved companions, their carefree smiling faces and happy voices echoing around the cozy lounge room. _Not just any dream... this is the best dream I've ever had!_


	9. Part 2, Chapter 9

****PART 2 - The black desert****

 **CHAPTER 9 - A familiar face**

An hour had passed when Tails looked up from the television and noticed something strange was happening. The room was becoming dimmer and a quiet murmur of sound had started to grow in volume, it seemed to emanate from thin air. Suddenly, like a doubly exposed photograph, the cozy living room faded and little spots of light broke out all over the darkening ceiling. The solid stone cave walls disappeared, opening out and revealing a scene of bustling merriment, it looked like an outdoor formal party, the dots of light were stars in a clear night sky. Smartly dressed guests mingled at well-catered tables and made their way through the colourfully lit paths of a grand garden. In the centre of a large grassy courtyard a band on a pavilion played music to a group of couples who danced slowly in each-others arms.

Tails fell to the floor with a thud. _What the? Where did everyone go?_ The couch and all his friends had vanished and he now sat in the cool grass in a quiet, dark corner of the garden. Nearby were a few tables neatly set in lines with white tablecloths, next to them some politely chatting guests, not one so much as blinked at his arrival.

 _If this is a dream, it just keeps getting weirder..._

Tails picked himself up and dusted the grass off, a quick glance around was all it took, he knew this place, it was the Castle Acorn and some of the faces around him belonged to townspeople he recognised. Elias, Mighty, Charles, Hamlin, over on the marble dance-floor Tails caught a glimpse of Knuckles and Julie Su dancing together, next to them he couldn't help but grin when he recognised Sonic and Sally holding each other tenderly and swaying to the music.

 _Heh, Sonic always looks weird in a suit._

Tails stood quietly for a while and drank in the surroundings, the slow graceful music, the romantic lights and colours, everything seemed so idyllic, so familiar. Everything was in place, everything except... _W_ _ait, who's that?_ Off to the side in the shadows, sitting alone on a table with shoulders hunched, a girl in a shiny golden gown watched the dancers with a sad smile.

 _Wow! Is that Nicole? She looks so... beautiful._

Driven by a strange energy, Tails approached quietly from the side; he noticed his hands were shaking slightly, _why am I so nervous? It's only a dream._ Eventually he reached her side and he paused, letting out a small cough. Nothing. Nicole seemed to be in a state of deep thought. For a moment he hesitated and nervous fear shot through him. He took a deep breath and touched her shoulder lightly.

"H-hello? Nicole?"

Nicole turned and looked at Tails curiously with her sad eyes, "Oh. Hello Tails… I don't remember you being in this place before." Her half-smile was oddly empty, little more than an attempt at politeness.

"Before? I... What do you mean Nicole, where are we?"

Nicole sighed with a hint of frustration. "Nothing, forget I said anything, you wouldn't understand" she said and looked back to the party.

"Why can't I understand?" asked Tails.

Strangely Nicole did not not answer, _didn't she hear me?_ _why is she ignoring me?_

"Nicole?" Tails asked again reluctantly.

The lynx spun around with a look of frustration on her face, "You can't understand because you just can't. Look I'm sorry Tails I'm in a bad mood. Please just... just leave me alone" she said and turned away curtly.

Tails was taken aback, he'd never heard Nicole speak like this and it caught him off guard, she seemed so upset, almost cold with him. He felt a strong urge to walk away but something stopped him. A party of a hundred people, laughter and happiness and friends all around and yet it was unmistakable, he could see it in her eyes, a feeling he knew much too well. Loneliness, deep longing loneliness. _Why?_

Quietly Tails sat down next to Nicole and watched the party. The slow music had stopped and people now danced in small groups. A circle had formed in the middle of the dance floor where Vector and Amy were having a dance-off. Amy was winning. Time seemed to lose all meaning as the two figures sat silently together on their dark table, a pair of astronauts separated from the world by a million miles. The party became a blur and soon all that Tails could see was Nicole, he noticed her shoulders were moving slightly, the light from the stage glinted off a droplet that fell on her cheek. "Are you okay Nicole?" he asked softly.

Nicole sniffled. "I'm sorry Tails. That was really rude of me before, "I just…" she stared wistfully into the distance "This place. I don't know why I keep coming back here, every time I do I just feel so awful. It's like… like I'm waiting for something that will never happen… someone who will never come."

She glanced momentarily at Tails but quickly turned away with a bitter half-smile as if mocking herself for the ridiculousness of her own thoughts.

"Maybe I could wait with you then?" said Tails. "Perhaps whoever comes along can explain what's going on?"

Nicole laughed gently and tacitly nodded her approval. They sat together quietly, alone again in the confines of their distant spaceship.

A loud bang filled the air and Tails was hurled back into the moment, he recoiled sharply and covered his head, his hands shaking and his eyes darting around. A bright bloom of yellow and blue lit up the sky as the first firework of the evening went off. Nicole, shocked, but not by the sound, looked at Tails with confused concern and instinctively reached for his arm. "Tails are you okay? what happened?"

Tails' world felt fuzzy and anxiety filled him him like a physical pain. Nicole's soft touch was like a beacon and he concentrated on her voice, clawing himself out of his panic, trying not to flinch as more dazzling rockets filled the sky.

"I- I'm sorry for scaring you" managed Tails, still shaking. "It's the explosions… Ever since the bombs fell I... I can't..."

"Bombs? What bombs?" Nicole asked, deeply concerned.

"I know this is a dream, but everything... it feels so real." said Tails "This place, these things, all of these people, none of it should exist! When we finally defeated Robotnik, he… he destroyed everything".

"Wait. What!?"

Nicole jumped to her feet and stood stiffly upright. "Tails how could you... how do you know about…?" and suddenly everything stopped. The world plunged into utter silence, everything immediately freezing in position. People stood with mouths half open, drink not flowing from their glasses and a few dancers defied gravity as their feet hovered disconcertingly above the dance-floor. Nicole stared at Tails, eyes wide with shock and disbelief, her lip was trembling.

"T-tails..? Tails! Is that really you!?"

"Nicole? what's going on? is this real? what is this place? " said Tails. He suddenly felt faint, dizzy, the stars seemed to sway overhead.

"Tails! oh Tails it really is you! I've missed you so much!" cried Nicole and she threw herself forward hugging him tightly and burying her head in his chest. "But how? How? I thought I'd never see you again"

The soft warmth of Nicole's body felt like ecstasy but Tails could no longer answer. The world was spinning now and he fought desperately for consciousness. Looking at Nicole he could see her eyes filled with alarm and concern. He tried to speak but no words came, his legs buckled and once again the darkness took him.


	10. Part 2, Chapter 10

****PART 2 - The black desert****

 **CHAPTER 10 - A new old feeling**

 _Is this real? Is this really real?_

Emotions for an AI are a strange thing. In order to truly simulate the experience a computer must intentionally work against itself, challenging processing requests, restricting access to core controls and diagnostics; an artificial intuition creates false conclusions and hides the truth behind a wall of illogic. Shock, fear and even ecstatic joy all distort reality in perceptible ways and as Nicole stood staring at the figure collapsed in the corner they swirled together in her virtual mind making the world feel like a fevered dream. Emotions, she cursed them silently.

The bleak grey walls of the the dimly lit underground bunker pressed in on the young lynx, it had been her home for seven years, her prison, a place she had tried hard to forget. The faintly glowing visage of her physical body flickered as she scanned the surroundings anxiously. _There!_ She hurried over to a metal rack where supplies were messily arranged on shelves and pulled out a red blanket, her holographic form barely able to hold its weight. Unfolding it, she rushed back to kneel beside the shivering boy lying on the ground and wrapped it tightly around him. Tails, _the real Tails!_ older than she remembered, unconsciously groaned in pain.

Kneeling beside him Nicole could clearly see that his leg was injured, the swelling and bruising visible even through the thick black mud that caked his fur. A fresh bruise was forming on his head and as Nicole gently touched his forehead the coldness of his body alarmed her. There was something else, a strange red rash was forming on his skin, it reminded her of something she had seen before but she couldn't quite remember what. Jumping up she hurried over to the shelf again and found a syringe, then, inspecting Tail's arm, she carefully inserted the needle into a vein and drew out a small sample of blood. The medical analyser on the bench was dusty and old but whirred into life with the push of a button. Green letters flashed up on the screen, 'Analysing'. With a sigh, Nicole sat down on the stool and watched patiently as the results of the automatic tests slowly appeared.

'Test 22. No viral pathogens detected'

'Test 23. Liver damage negative'

"N-Nicole?" The weak, husky voice came from behind her and Nicole spun to see Tails had awoke and was looking up at her with his big blue eyes. Pain was drawn in the lines of his face. "What happened? Where am I?"

Jumping from her stool Nicole rushed to Tails and knelt beside him, she carefully placed her hand on his forehead. _Still so cold_. "Tails, thank goodness, I was worried about you. You're hurt, your leg might be broken and you're suffering from hypothermia. There's something else too, a strange rash, I'm running some tests to find out what it is. How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere else?"

Tails winced as he raised his head to look around at his gloomy surroundings. "Just... a bit bruised I think" he croaked. "Are we... Is this real now?"

Nicole nodded and noticed that Tail's hand was shaking uncontrollably, she took his cold fingers in hers. "This is real. You've never seen it before but you're in the old base of the secret Freedom Fighters, we used it back in the days when Nagus was king. That door on the tree up there, the entrance, it was modelled on the old Freedom Fighters stump slide."

Tails winced but managed a smile. "I never was very good at coming down that slide either. But how did I... Where were we before?"

Nicole looked down at the ground "I'm sorry Tails that must have been so confusing; and me just ignoring you like that.. I'm a terrible person, I'm so so sorry..." her face was wracked with guilt and she started to quiver. Tails squeezed her hand weakly and shook his head, he stared fiercely into her eyes, refusing to acknowledge the concept of her guilt.

Nicole collected herself "Do you remember the time Sally and I switched places? It was one of Rotor's strange experimental accidents, the first time I ever had a body. Before the bombs dropped Rotor and I had been working on that technology and he found a way to transport a consciousness into my virtual world. When you came down that slide you accidentally touched the wires that initiated the transfer, the link was broken when your real world body lost consciousness"

Tails grew quiet, staring off into the shadows of the dark lab, "They weren't real were they? Sonic and the others... I mean how could they be. I was there when they..." he trailed off.

"When Robotnik was defeated and the dead-hand bombs fell all of my connections to the surface were destroyed. I was trapped down here in this server. Ever since that day I haven't seen anyone else. I thought that I was the only survivor. The virtual world was my only escape but... the loneliness... I had a lot of data stored about each of you from all the times that we'd spent together and I managed to create virtual approximations of your personalities. In some ways they are very realistic, they sound the same, they act in similar ways and sometimes I can go for days without thinking about it. I always remember though, something always brings me back down, they aren't really alive, not in the way that I am, they don't have the ability to grow or change or to understand anything outside the virtual world. Sometimes being around them is harder than being alone..."

A buzzing noise rang out from the medical terminal and a message flashed on the screen. Until that moment, Nicole hadn't realised how tightly she was gripping tail's hand, she let go with embarrassment and hurried over to the console. _I hope he didn't notice._

The message on the screen flashed again. 'Test 46 Complete: Moderate radiation poisoning detected'. Nicole's brow creased in confusion as she read the diagnosis. She opened one of the cupboards and withdrew some bottles of liquid, prepping two syringes carefully. Tail's eyes were closed, but his ears pricked up as Nicole approached, "Tails" she whispered "It's very strange, the diagnostics say that you have radiation poisoning, but that shouldn't be possible. If the bombs fell seven years ago, the background radiation in this area should be mostly safe. Do you know what might have happened?

Tails struggled to open his eyes, and did his best to shake his head. His mouth opened but he only managed a groan.

"It's going to be okay, It's not life threatening but you need to rest. I'm going to give you an injection to stop the swelling and one to try and prevent any cell damage from the radiation. When you're out I'll have a closer look at your leg, hopefully it's just a sprain."

Carefully Nicole injected the solutions into tails' arm and covered it with a bandage. "I'm so sorry this happened to you Tails" she whispered and found herself gently stroking his fur. Tails did not respond, his raspy breathing the only sound audible above the low hum of the server computers. _Please be okay._ Nicole looked down at her unexpected guest, the sudden source of so much shock, confusion and fear. There was something else though, deep down in her stomach. A new old feeling, a happy sadness, a euphoric pain, it came from long in the past but she remembered it clear as yesterday. _Oh no..._ she thought as she stared, transfixed by Tails' face, _Not again!_


	11. Part 2, Chapter 11

**PART 2 - The black desert**

 **CHAPTER 11 - Reality bytes**

"I've gotta admit I'm getting pretty tired of sleeping and passing out" said Tails as Nicole bent down to hand him a hot bowl of soup. He propped himself up on his elbow and leaned over to eat. "It seems like all I do these days"

"Pretty tired eh? Doctor recommends more sleep" Nicole responded with a wry smile, she sat on the concrete floor next to Tails and leaned back on her hands.

"It just makes me feel bad to have you doing everything for me. It's not your fault I'm here. It's my own damn fault! If I hadn't been such a moron, this never would have happened, I never would have gotten into this state in the first place!" said Tails motioning down at his foot which was wrapped in a bandage.

Nicole rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, just think of all the important stuff I could be doing right now if you hadn't showed up. You think you're good at space racers? Try playing it every day for the last seven years."

Tails smiled at her then looked down with an inward frown. "I'm sorry Nicole, you're right, I'm glad I found you. I just feel so useless, I wish I could help out in some way."

Nicole thought for a second. "Well, you know, you've been here two days now and I still don't know why. Maybe you could start there?"

"Oh gosh, The chaos emerald! I almost forgot!"

Nicole cocked her head with a raised eyebrow.

Tails explained "The chaos emerald; it's the reason I'm here. I've been searching for one for the last two years. Finally, after all that time, I had Knuckles follow up a lead and he told me it was here. I didn't want to wait any longer so I left that night, right in the middle of the storm. Pretty stupid huh? I almost died."

"I still can't believe Knuckles is alive too" Mused Nicole happily "Maybe there's others out there we don't even know about!", she looked at Tails hopefully.

Tails frowned and looked away noncommittally "I hope so Nicole... I hope so"

"So why do you need an emerald?" Nicole asked "Why have you been looking for so long?".

"Well I told you about the storm and the plane crash right? But what I haven't told you is that the storm wasn't exactly a surprise and it definitely wasn't a one off thing. Ever since that day seven years ago things have been getting worse and worse on the surface. Storms are getting more frequent and more violent, these days they can last for weeks; crops are failing and people are starving. There's something wrong with the planet... I don't know what it is but It's getting worse."

"That's awful, I had no Idea..." said Nicole, deep concern outlined in her face. Tails nodded solemnly.

"I wasted years trying to fix things but nothing ever worked. Eventually I just gave up. Ironically that was when I realised there was still hope. The emerald is for an escape, a way out. I was studying the warp technology that we had during the wars and I worked out a way to open a portal to another zone. I've already started building some parts of it back on Cocoa Island but the problem is I need a chaos emerald, it's the only thing I've found that has enough power to sustain a gateway."

"Well we have to find it then!" Nicole said forcefully, "Tails, if there's still survivors out there then we may be the only ones who can save them! Are you sure it's here?"

Tails shrugged his shoulders with his palms up. "Honestly, I don't know. Knuckles was pretty certain and he seems to be able to sense emeralds but there's a detector in the Tornado and it didn't detecting anything. Actually, the closer I got to Mobotropolis the more the readings stopped making sense, after a while all I could pick up was random interference."

"Hmm" Nicole thought carefully "That doesn't rule it out. In fact it might just explain something else..." she looked pointedly at tails "The detector you use. I assume it's a standard flux measuring induction device?"

"Yeah that's right" replied Tails.

"Well one thing that can cause interference is strongly ionising radiation..."

"Of course!" Tails face lit up "Maybe the source of radiation that burned me is the same as the location of the emerald, that would hide the chaos energy signal no matter where I was."

"Exactly" said Nicole, excitedly "So if we use a radiation detector we might find our source. Only problem is I don't have one."

"I'm pretty sure I have one! Back in the tornado, and I have a hunch about where it might point us!" Eagerly Tails pulled himself up and hobbled forward quickly towards the slide, making it about five paces before the aching pain in his muscles overcame him. "Arrggh" he groaned, cringing and wobbling precariously, fighting to keep his balance on one unbound foot.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going mister!?" yelled Nicole, hurrying over to grab Tails around the shoulders; helping him back to his makeshift bed she gently lowered him down. "You can barely stand up Tails, let alone go searching for the emerald, it hasn't even stopped raining yet! Give it two more days, please? Just two. I'm not really a doctor but your sprain should be much better by then and you're not going to be doing anyone any favours if you get into trouble out there."

Tails lay his head back gently, wincing at the pain in his neck before hitting the pillow with a sigh. "Yeah you're right, sorry that was stupid" He flashed Nicole a crooked grin "If I went out there now I'd probably fall down another tree slide and end up with an even bossier AI."

"mhm" Nicole pretended not to hear as she bent down to take Tail's empty bowl. Tails met her eyes with a sincere look of thanks and despite the coldness of the room she suddenly felt very warm.

"What about you Nicole, can you go back up? You said you'd lost connection to the surface but what about the nanites? If there's still some on the surface maybe we could use them to repair your holo grid. What about your portable handheld could you use that?"

"It's possible that some nanites survived on the surface but I've lost contact with them if they did. The command broadcaster arrays were very fragile. As for the handheld... Sally was holding it when..." Nicole trailed off and looked away.

"oh... right" muttered Tails, frowning uncomfortably at the awkward silence he had created. "How about the nanites down here?" he offered, "If we could collect enough maybe we could carry some back to the surface, we could even build a replacement array"

"Of course!" Nicole looked up, suddenly very animated. "Tails, now that you're here that might just work!"

The young lynx jumped up and flung open the doors of a cabinet, her head disappearing as she fossicked around in the dark, reappearing triumphantly moments later with a huge smile, a screwdriver in one hand and what looked like a small wire antennae in the other.

"Sorry to steal your thunder Tails but I actually did think of that idea already, If it makes you feel any better though I had a seven year head start". Nicole walked over to the opposite wall and bent down to where she was in line with a large metal panel. "You see this panel?" she pointed, a slightly manic glint in her eye. "This panel is my worst enemy, it's the devil, it's Robotnik's evil twin; this panel is every bad thing that has ever happened to anyone ever, concentrated and formed into a thin sheet of metal. Do you know why Tails? Do you know why!?"

Tails looked on with puzzled amusement "Err, well me and the panel haven't really been introduced yet, I'd prefer not to make a judgement"

"I'll tell you why!" Nicole shouted "It's because behind this panel is the only way to connect to the power mains in the whole lab! It's the only place I can attach something like, oh I don't know... this nanite controller array! It's the only thing stopping me from getting out of this horrible room, and guess what?" Nicole held up the screwdriver and proceeded to try to unscrew the first screw of the panel. She put her whole body into the motion, her face turning red with effort, her white teeth bared against the strain. She let out a fierce roar of frustration and collapsed forward onto her hands, exhausted.

"Wow" managed Tails as he looked on at his pretty friend, panting against the wall, "and I thought I was messed up."

Nicole slumped her back against the wall and pointedly extended her arm out while holding the screwdriver. She stared daggers at Tails.

"I'm kind of scared now" said Tails.

"Get over here bio boy" growled Nicole "before I decide to take out my super-human strength on you!"

Tails gingerly made it to his feet and slowly hobbled over to where Nicole was sitting, joining her on the floor and grabbing the screwdriver she plonked unceremoniously in his outstretched hand. He tried the screw. It was in tight alright but nothing out of the ordinary, at least not for an aircraft mechanic. He tried to hide his satisfaction as he pulled the first dislodged screw out of the hole. "I think you loosened it for me..." he offered unconvincingly. Nicole crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Ten screws later, Tails shuffled back and with a quick tug the panel came cleanly off the wall exposing a jumble of heavy power cables and fuses, the main power outlet that Nicole had predicted.

Tails turned to Nicole and was about to say something when suddenly he stopped; she was crying. Silently, Nicole took the flimsy antennae she had built and handed it to Tails, pointing at a small box in the corner of the exposed wires where some outlet plugs were visible. Dutifully Tails inserted the cables of the antennae into the plug and a small LED lit up at its base.

"I can feel them" said Nicole, her face still wet with tears, "Tails they're still here, I can feel them, I can... control them." She closed her eyes and concentrated deeply and suddenly, as if by magic, a tiny spot in mid air started to glow. There, right before Tails' eyes an object was gradually forming, a silvery metal rectangle that rotated slowly in the air. It hovered for a moment, glowing, and then Nicole opened her eyes and reached out, plucking it from space; she extended her arm and opened her fingers, offering it to Tails.

"Th-thank you Nicole" said Tails as he picked up the small token from her hand and examined it between his fingers. He looked up at the lynx, meeting her eyes with an expression of humbled gratitude. "What is it meant to be?".

Nicole tears had stopped now and a sly smirk had returned to her face. "Oh that, that's just a souvenir for you, It's a scale replica of that damn panel. Maybe if you carry it around with you all the time you'll learn to love it as much as I did!"


	12. Part 2, Chapter 12

****PART 2 - The black desert**** **CHAPTER 12 - Starting again**

"Whew! okay I take it back Nicole, I should have waited for you to fix the elevator!" Tails' slightly breathless voice echoed back down the slide, the rope he was carrying around his shoulders dangling vertically down into the space below him as he suspended himself against the walls with his arms and legs outstretched.

"Told you so!" came Nicole's echoing laugh. It made Tails grin, he'd been grinning a lot lately.

One last time Tails pushed himself upwards off the wall and towards the cracks of light that peeked through the old door above him, finally his hands found flat ground. Curling his fingers over the edge he pulled himself upwards and hauled his body onto the small platform at the top of the shaft. With a triumphant shove the door flung open, flooding the small entry space with light and warmth. Tying the rope to a sturdy anchor Tails called back down the hole. "Alright Nicole, ready to go!", he waited a moment then felt a tug and started to reel in the slack. The rope formed a pile beside him and soon he could see a large grey box ascending into the light, trailing it was a length of cable that snaked away back into the darkness. When it finally reached the top Tails grabbed the package with both hand and hauled it to the side, allowing the rope to fall back down. "Okay I'm heading out, I'll see you in a second" he yelled and with box in hands Tails got up and stepped outside.

What a difference a few days can make! The sky was a vivid sapphire blue and Tails had to shield his eyes against the blazing midday sun. Squinting, he could now see clear out to the hills in the distance, still green with life-giving plants. The ground, once a river of black mud, crunched under his feet, now a checkerboard of crusty tiles, baking in the sun. In places, humid steam rose from the earth and caused a mirage-like rippling effect out in the distance. Setting down the box gently Tails opened the lid and inspected the contents. Two medium sized antennas, collapsed for space, a remote control, some tools, and a solid block of strange material that seemed to shimmer and change colour, oscillating in waves between light and dark grey.

Not wasting a moment the young fox eagerly set to work, pulling the first antennae from the box he extended out its telescoping limbs until it stood almost as high as him, a few turns of the screwdriver locked it into place and before he knew it he was connecting one branch of the power cable to its base. Touching the transmitter with his exposed hand Tails recoiled as a slight jolt snapped at his finger. _Yep, it's working._ He grabbed the remote control from the box and hurried back over to the tree stump. "Hey Nicole, we're all set. I recommend you bring a hat, it's boiling up here." Pushing the power button on the side of his remote, Tails stood back and then suddenly, without fanfare, Nicole appeared before of him.

She stood silently, her eyes scanning the surroundings, an expression of abject horror quickly dawning on her face. Her lips moved, as if to gasp, but no sound emerged and she raised her hand to covered her mouth as if protecting herself from corrupted air. "Tails, it's all gone. All of it" she said, looking into his eyes but also through them, her gaze had no focus, a thousand yard stare.

Tails moved to comfort her but she resisted, holding out her hand and closing her eyes. "No, Tails... It's okay, I knew it would be bad, I just wasn't quite prepared, for... this" she stood quietly for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "What's done is done. We can't change the past"

Tails nodded supportively, "I wish your first trip outside didn't have to be so bleak Nicole."

"There's only one thing to do" said Nicole, a new positive energy radiating in her voice "We'll have to clean it up." "Can you help me with the nanite array?" she asked as she reached into the box and pulled out the second transmitter.

The second antennae fully spread was slightly larger than the last and it took two to open, Tails plugged in the power cable and almost instantaneously a barely audible high-pitched sound rang through the air. Nicole picked up the strange metallic cube from the box and placed it on the ground, "Alright guys lets see what you can do" she said.

"It's working!" exclaimed Tails as he watched the small cube slowly spread out into a powdery mist that seemed to seep into the ground. "How long will it take before they can start to rebuild things again?" he asked.

"It might take overnight before they're able to start replicating exponentially but until then we'll have to wait." Nicole glanced at Tails, "Oh, but I guess one quick thing couldn't hurt though", she said and concentrated on the place where the nanites had disappeared. A misty cloud formed, encircling an oddly shaped object that was rising from the ground, a minute later the cloud dissipated as Nicole bent down to pick her creation. "Here you go" she laughed and handed it to Tails "You looked like you could use these".

"Wow, sunglasses, Awesome!" said Tails and quickly donned the pair of silvery shades.

"Who said computers were for nerds huh?" quipped Nicole. She looked out into the distance, scanning the surroundings, and then pointed confidently "If my old maps are still worth anything the Tornado should be this way. Ready to go?"

"Ready!" replied tails with a nod.

"I think that pile up ahead is the remains of the control tower." Said Tails as he and Nicole trudged over the crusty landscape, he looked back over his shoulder at the stump which was growing smaller in the distance "Geez I really took a wrong turn the other night didn't I?"

As they drew closer the ruined control tower loomed over them and in its shadow Tails could now clearly see the battered wings of his precious plane.

"Gosh it took quite a beating" said Nicole "You're lucky you weren't more badly injured".

They stood beside the fuselage and inspected the damage. The mud had taken its toll, completely covering the undercarriage of the plane in a thick black blanket. Amazingly the cockpit was still dry and as Tails pried open the cracked windscreen he was hit with a wave of hot air from the greenhouse it created.

Tails rummaged around head-first in the back of the cabin, his legs sticking out into the air. "I found it!" he yelled and his head popped back up, a small detector device in his hand. Jumping down to the ground he sidled up to where Nicole was standing and turned it on. A repetitive clicking noise began and some numbers appeared on the display.

"Hmm it's just like I thought" said Nicole "background radiation levels are pretty normal."

"Hang on a second, I have a hunch" said Tails, climbing back up onto the Tornado, and scanning the surroundings, "over there he yelled" pointing towards a dome shaped object in the distance, "Try pointing it that, way".

Nicole swung the detector around and suddenly the clicking sped up. She squinted into the distance and then called back up to Tails "Is that- Is that what I think it is?".

"I'm afraid so" sighed Tails as he slid back to the ground. "I walked there on the night I crashed thinking it might be a shelter. As far as I could see it's mostly still intact or at least the part that's still above ground is, old Eggbreath sure knew how to build them sturdy. It's a good thing I didn't find a way in isn't it? If I got radiation poisoning just from standing outside Imagine how bad it must be on the inside?"

Nicole nodded "Yep, If my calculations are correct it's likely that some sort of nuclear reactor core has gone critical and started leaking inside. If you'd somehow managed to get exposed to that kind of radiation you'd either become a super-hero or you'd turn into hero soup. Probably the latter."

"Hmm, super hero eh?" said Tails scratching his chin in mock contemplation "would I be able to fly?"

Nicole rolled her eyes "Definitely no risk of super intelligence."

"Come on, let's get a bit closer and check it out." said Tails. He started walking and then stopped, noticing that Nicole wasn't following and turned to see her pondering something.

"Hey Tails" she said, and gestured him closer "come here a moment", Tails raised an eyebrow but moved to join her.

"Can I have your sunglasses?"

Tails, perplexed took off his shades and handed them to Nicole.

"Hey, I need those for seeing and stuff!" he yelled as Nicole suddenly crushed the glasses in her hands. She began to focus and the broken pieces fell apart into a fine powder, a little heap which she sprinkled on the ground.

"Sorry I had to do that, I should have remembered to bring more nanites with me but thankfully those sunglasses still had a high concentration from before. If we seed this area now the Nanites should take hold here much quicker and you can use them when you start to rebuild the Tornado"

Tails shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted annoyedly at Nicole. "But my eyeballs are burning! What If somebody sees me, they'll think I'm uncool!"

"I'm willing to take that risk" said Nicole and started to walk, gesturing casually to follow. Tails grumpily capitulated.

The sun seemed to beat down harder than before as they approached the Death Egg, any wind which had existed had dropped and a hazy wall of heat radiated up off the ground, slightly distorting the shape of nearby objects. The dead stillness of the sweltering black desert was complete, interrupted only by the sound of crunching footsteps and the quickening tick of the radiation detector.

"Stop" warned Nicole as they drew within the last 100 meters of the imposing metal fortress. "If we go any further the radiation will start to get dangerous, we'll need to inspect from here."

"What are we looking for exactly?" asked Tails "I've already checked all around the perimeter, there's no way in..."

"Well hopefully we'll get a spike in radiation if we point the detector at some points, that might indicate a structural weakness which we could use to get inside."

"Hmmm, good thought" Tails agreed and they started their slow walk around, careful not to get closer to the deadly wreckage. "So, assuming we can find a weak point, how do we actually get in, let alone retrieve the emerald? I'd offer to go myself but I have trouble sleeping when my whole body is glowing. Do you think you might be able to enter?"

"Maybe... but it probably won't be easy." Nicole conceded. "There's no way the holo projector will breach that armour, and any electronics are highly susceptible to radiation that intense. Perhaps if we could work out a way to seed the inside with nanites I could use them to relay the holo signal and give myself enough strength to get to the emerald."

Nicole and Tails had now almost covered the perimeter of the Death egg and as they approached their starting position, there was a spike and the clicking of the detector instantly sped up until it was almost a whir.

"We found it!" Tails said enthusiastically as Nicole swung the device side to side taking note of where the highest reading was.

"You should probably wait here" she said to Tails who nodded seriously.

Nicole approached slowly, following the path of the highest readings. Fifty meters, fourty meters, as she walked, Tails noticed that her previously solid form was now flickering slightly, a fuzzy kind of interference that looked a bit like bad television reception. Nicole approached the wall and reached out to touch it, running her hand across the slightly rusting dusty surface. "I think this is a hatch" she called out, "Maybe for a weapon bay or a duct of some sort."

"Can you open it?" Called out Tails, squinting to get a better look.

Nicole tried to put her fingers into the small gap around the panel. Once she had a decent grip, she pulled outwards but there was no movement. She turned around and shook her head, "Sorry, not yet, I'm not strong enough without the nanites, we should come back when they're ready".

The sun was starting to set as Tails and Nicole walked back to base, stopping briefly at the Tornado so that Tails could collect a few more supplies. Nicole was quiet, she seemed deep in thought and Tails took a chance to reflect on the strange events that had led him to this moment. As he reminisced he surveyed the flat ruinous landscape, stretching out to the distant mountains. It was oddly beautiful in its stark, endless emptiness, like a giant minimalist painting bordered by the first hues of pink and orange that crept into the clear evening sky. Tails couldn't help but notice the way the light complimented Nicole's figure as she walked beside him, the way she held herself, her graceful walk. A powerful longing filled him, and suddenly he desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, to hold her; he squeezed his fist and closed his eyes, forcing the feelings back down. _Don't be a fool, she'd never be interested in you! Don't even think about it, you'll ruin everything!_

Eventually the couple reached the charred fake tree and Nicole seemed to emerge from her daydream. She turned to see that Tails was watching her. Their eyes meeting for a moment too long, repelling away like magnets in a flurry of embarrassed shyness.

"Man it was really good to get moving again today. We got a lot done huh?" said Tails to the ground, scratching the back of his head as he tried hard to break the awkward silence, "Actually, you're pretty handy to have around Nicole, I'd even go so far as to say you're the most useful AI Lynx I've met all week."

"Oh my what an honour!" Nicole replied sarcastically "especially coming from the winner of my 'people I could turn into vapour with Nanites award'." She leered at Tails with a hint of playful menace. "Oh that reminds me, I have something to show you!"

Tails pretended to look afraid "Does it involve me and being vaporised by nanites?"

"Only partially." said Nicole, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. "Come on!" she yelled, darting over to the tree-trunk entrance and jumping down the hole. Tails heart leapt for a moment as his mind raced with possibilities and he eagerly followed, taking one last look at the colourful sky he closed the door of the little hideaway and entered the slide.

Tails emerged quickly and almost crashed into Nicole as she was picking herself up off the ground; the soft ground. _Carpet?_ He looked up in surprise, Nicole had made some serious changes to the lab. Gone were the stark metal shelves and dusty benches, they had been replaced with wooden furniture and comfortable couches. The ground was now tiled and carpeted and the walls were painted with a fresh coat of white. On the shelves were boxes of fresh food and in the corner a refrigerator hummed quietly near a kitchen counter. Tails looked at the smiling girl with his awestruck face. "You even made me a bed!" he exclaimed, eyeing the extremely comfy looking mattress near the wall. "Nicole this is awesome! All this furniture and food, we could live down here forever"

"Well we could, but more importantly now we don't have to", Nicole smirked as she walked over to the elevator shaft. She pressed a button and almost instantly a platform descended from above with an airy 'whoosh'. "I told you I'd fix the elevator" she said, doing her best not to look smug. "Don't worry though I left the rope in the slide. Just in case you get bored and want to go climbing again."


End file.
